


Glittery

by NiallLovesLouis



Series: Kun's the best mom [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: (who actually love each other don’t worry), Adorable and loved by everyone Haechan, Also not everyone tagged is mentioned, Best friends Johnil, Best friends Yutae, Cool as a cucumber Taeil, Domestic Fluff, Dramatic diva Taeyong, Established Relationship, Everything and Everyone is Soft, Fluff, Hyuckhei is tagged as a ship but really they’re just children feeling butterflies, Kun’s the best mom, M/M, Married 2tae, Mortal enemies Dotae, Mother hen Kun, No Angst, Plot What Plot, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but they’re all part of this universe, fluff without a plot, nct and wayv fam, soft, soft nct
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:02:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22203781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NiallLovesLouis/pseuds/NiallLovesLouis
Summary: Taeyong didn’t open the door to bright lights and colorful napkins.The house was silent, too silent considering it was 12 pm. And even worse, more concerning than silent, it was... clean. Organized, tidy. Calm.That’s not how a house in the Christmas Eve’s Eve is supposed to look like, is it?OrTaeyong leaves all Christmas related preparations under a very chill Taeil’s responsibility. Drama ensues.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Lee Taeyong/Moon Taeil
Series: Kun's the best mom [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1384000
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	Glittery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CurlyKitten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CurlyKitten/gifts).



> Title is from Kacey Musgraves’ “Glittery”! A really soft Christmas song, puts you just in the right mood for fluff!
> 
> This is just a pice of fluff that I really enjoyed writing! I keep having a lot of ideas for this series, but I just don’t have the time to write all of them... anyway I managed to finish this one, so hope you like it! And a very late Merry Christmas to whoever reads this! <3

The sun was unexpectedly shining, considering the cold days they usually endured this time of the year. Hints of the snow from the day before could still be seen in the places the sun didn’t reach. Everything was as calm as it should be.

Taeyong walked their front porch with an unmistakably happy smile. The prospect of seeing his two loves again made him forget his red nose and cold feet.

He was already clutching the key in his pocket long before he reached the door, so it was no trouble opening it, even with trembling hands.

He was home.

—————

_“We don’t have to do this.”_

_The voice of his husband filtered through his ears, calm and gentle. Usually enough to make Taeyong crumble into rationality. In this case, it only made him look away from the window, alarmed._

_“No- what? We do, of course we-“_

_Taeil approached him gently, his feet padding softly on the floor, that delicacy the older had whenever he did anything. Taeyong’s heart was almost safe for a second._

_“We don’t. If that’s something you’re not comfortable with.”_

_The older shrugged, as if it was as simple as that. As if Taeyong’s health didn’t absolutely depend on stuff like this. As if._

_“I’m sorry, I just...” Taeil was looking at him silently, with an incredible amount of attention and love that Taeyong did not deserve for behaving like a child. He sighed, defeated. Taeil really shone a lot brighter than the sun. “You know how much Christmas preparations mean to me.”_

_“I know, I know...”_

_They were silent for a moment, and he took Taeil’s hand, guiding him to the bed. It’s a trick he learned long ago, physical contact kept Taeil interested._

_The few seconds that the action won him quickly ran out though, and he found himself inching towards a somewhat more final decision._

_He gripped Taeil’s hand a bit tighter._

_“You promise to start planning things as soon as I go?”_

_He pouted for extra effect, even though he knew that never really worked on Taeil. Not unless Donghyuck was the one doing it. Which, if you asked him, no, Taeyong still wasn’t jealous about that._

_His husband smiled, and how the same smile from a decade ago still filled Taeyong’s heart with the most impossible amount of fondness and adoration, he didn’t know._

_“I do.”_

_Taeyong ducked his head with a blush._

_“And you’ll get an even number of candles?”_

_“We wouldn’t want bad luck cursing our Christmas.”_

_He bounced his legs a little, hugging Taeil’s arm to his chest._

_“And you’ll use smaller napkins with cute patterns that match our tree colors in the kids’ table?”_

_Taeil laughed then, and cupped the other’s face very softly._

_“I’ll even make sure they annoy Doyoung.”_

_Taeyong gasped, and maybe his eyes welled up a little. Not his fault he married the most perfect human being to ever grace the earth with its presence._

_Actually, he’d take all the credit for that._

_He kissed his husband’s cheek._

_“Then we might have a deal.”_

_  
  
_ —————

  
Taeyong didn’t open the door to bright lights and colorful napkins. 

The house was silent, too silent considering it was 12 pm. And even worse, more concerning than silent, it was... clean. Organized, tidy. _Calm_. 

That’s not how a house in the Christmas Eve’s Eve is supposed to look like, is it?

If Taeyong had been in charge, he’d already have all his tables filled with different boxes, marked up by different colors that represented each place in the hierarchy.

He walked with reluctant steps into the house. Maybe Taeil had done it in his own, unique way. They were different people after all. He shouldn’t be worried.

“Honey? Duckie?”

He found them right in the living room, and quickly cut off his words.

They were sleeping. Soundly, on the couch, still in their pajamas. A matching set Johnny had offered the three of them a couple of Christmases back, because “it’s cute, and makes an excellent postcard”.

He had to agree though, that seeing Donghyuck in a stripped, baby blue shirt that matched the oversized pants hiding his small feet, dozing off in Taeil’s chest, who was wearing the exact same thing, was about the single most adorable thing he had witnessed in the past few months. And he had watched Renjun getting stuck in a flower vase while playing hide and seek.

He walked closer to them, after snapping a picture, obviously, and kissed his son gently on the forehead. Then he moved to Taeil, to his lips instead, and gave a very quick peck, just warm enough that it’d wake him up.

“Hi sleepyheads.”

Taeil didn’t really move much at the contact, unexpectedly.

“Dada!” Donghyuck, on the other hand, and like the energetic bundle of joy he was, completely skipped the sleepy-just-woken-up stage, choosing to jump into his father’s arms with content. “I missed you...”

The noise was enough to wake up his husband, truly this time, making his eyes opening too now, though visibly less wide. He said something, but Taeyong didn’t get it through Donghyuck’s excited speech right in his ear.

“Did you miss me? My plushies missed you, you have to go say hi to them.” He sat on the ground and let his son stay on his lap, even though the child wouldn’t stay still for a minute. His eyes remained locked with Taeil’s, and he smiled brightly once he made out the silent “I missed you” coming from his husband’s lips. “You know papa accidentally put Shirley on the washing machine, and if I hadn’t seen the tail hanging out he could have died? And it’s my favorite plushie-“

He looked at his son with fondness, listening to his story with undivided attention after the child chastised him for looking at Taeil.

His fingers moved naturally to comb his son’s hair while he spoke, eyes bright and making sure Taeyong understood every word.

How did he survive without them for so long?

  
  
—————  
  


_“Do you really have to go?”_

_Big, round and childish eyes looked at him, a tear threatening to fall. Taeyong kneeled in front of him, his own chest tightening, his hand coming to adjust Donghyuck’s little scarf, the red one covered with reindeers._

_“I’m sorry baby, you know I’d never leave unless I really had to.”_

_Donghyuck sniffed sadly, his hand grabbing Taeyong’s significantly bigger one, before he looked at his father with a new found determination._

_“I will miss you a lot... but I know that dancing for Santa is really important, to motivate him to give all the gifts.”_

_Taeyong’s eyes crossed Taeil’s on the other side of the room._

_Now, you could judge him for telling that specific lie to his son. However, it must be said, that he would only be home to celebrate Christmas on December 23rd, right after two whole weeks away. And how exactly do you tell your son that your manager booked a last minute trip to another country, to meet dancers from different agencies, and it’s too important to cancel? That’s right, you don’t. You tell him you’ll be dancing to Santa. Along with your friend Ten who’s in the same business._

_He took a tissue from his bag and blew his son’s nose, then another to blow his own._

_“That’s my generous boy. I promise I’ll bring you a present.”_

_His baby’s eyes lit up at that, a small enthusiastic jump taking over him._

_“Like the teddy bears uncle Kun always brings Chenle?”_

_“And the chocolate uncle Yuta offers from Japan.”_

_His son gasped, before extending his little arms to his father’s neck and hugging him close._

_Taeyong rubbed his back gently, closing his eyes as he tried to forget he’d spend two whole weeks away from his most precious babies._

_“Bye, bug.”_

_Donghyuck pulled away with reluctance._

_Taeyong ruffled his hair one more time before getting up. He looked at the newly decorated tree on the corner, the one they had picked a week before and was already shining with all the beautiful garments their family had picked. Donghyuck, especially, had taken it upon himself to find the most beautiful animals to hang. Now it seemed more like a zoo than a Christmas tree, and Taeyong tended to despise any decoration that wasn’t neat and pretty, but he always made exceptions when it came to his family._

_Taeil gathered their son into his arms, holding him gently in one arm as he went to kiss Taeyong one last time._

_He was already at the door, heart clenching and eyes burning, when Donghyuck spoke again._

_“Santa better pay for your performance.”_

_He laughed wetly and blew a kiss to his son._

  
  
—————

  
  
Donghyuck didn’t seem to get tired of clinging to him, and Taeyong would be lying if he said it didn’t make him feel all giddy on the inside to see how much his son had missed him, so he simply held him close as they traveled to the kitchen.

“Baby, where are the Christmas decorations?”

Of course the house was decorated, but there were always special elements strictly meant to be used on big celebrations. Taeyong bought them every year that the celebrations occurred in his house, because after all the children and adults and Taeil’s love for wine, they always ended up disgusting, to say the least. No amount of detergent could bring them to their original state. Needless to say, that meant a magnificent headache to Taeyong, and therefore, Taeil had promised him they could buy cheaper ones and give them away in the end. A fair enough deal, in his opinion.

Today, not seeing any type of shopping bags laying around was slightly unnerving for that reason.

It was why his words had been directed at Taeil, who was trailing a little behind them with a smile.

“Uh-uh.” Donghyuck snickered playfully in his arms. “Papa’s in trouble.”

“Trouble? Why-“ He turned to look at Taeil, sitting his son on the counter but staying between his legs. His husband was strangely calm. Then again, when had he not been calm? Yuta always said he had the spirit and soul of a sloth. After almost a decade of marriage, Taeyong was inclined to agree, although he’d add a heart the size of a whale. And, depending on the next few minutes, the memory of a goldfish. “Taeil... you did buy the decorations, right?”

Taeil went straight to the toaster and connected it to the plug, all domestic and cute as if his own husband wasn’t about to have a heart attack. He only turned his head to speak.

“Honey...”

“Oh my god.” 

Donghyuck jumped from his arms, giggling and chanting that “papa’s going to sit in the naughty corner”.

Taeyong saw his husband reaching for the bread as their son ran into the living room.

“So, I already have the theme picked out.”

“The theme? The- Taeil the theme is _Christmas_.” He felt the tension build in his chest. The following day, they needed to have the whole house decorated. They didn’t have time to go plan a whole event in a few hours. “You said you were planning things, you were supposed to- why didn’t you _plan_? I gave you my planning pen!”

Taeil turned to him, maybe reading the urgency in his tone. No, he wasn’t dramatic, he just liked to ensure all his babies, real-babies like Donghyuck, love-of-his-life-babies like Taeil, and from-other-family-but-simply-completely-adorable-babies like Chenle and Jisung, all his babies had to... wait, where was he going? Oh, right. All his babies would have their Christmas ruined if he didn’t find the right napkins.

“I planned it the day you left, like I told you.” Taeil put down the tea bags he had in his hand and walked closer to the counter where Taeyong was, his fingers rubbing gently at the younger’s tights. “Baby, I just realized, after I _planned_... that everything was truly simple.” 

“Is this what death feels like? Can god just take me?”

Taeil rolled his eyes without a trace of annoyance in his face.

“Tyongie, you don’t have to worry about anything! I’m going to shop everything today with Johnny, and leave our Hyuckie with Kun while you do your magic in the kitchen.” Taeyong pouted, just to show how _unappreciative_ of this so called “plan”, he was. Taeil grabbed his face. “Then I’ll come back, and we’ll decorate our house, and we’ll have a perfect Christmas with half the stress.”

Half the stress? He could speak for himself, Taeyong was about to burst into a million tiny little snowflakes for Doyoung to collect and imprison in a snow globe that he’d shove in a dark colorless drawer for the rest of eternity. 

He pouted further, and turned slightly away from his husband and- were those fingers on his hair?

“Yongie, baby, I’m sorry...” Taeil’s short, soft fingers on his hair were like magic, and after a couple of weeks away, he was being sent straight to heaven’s gates. “Hyuckie’s just been lonely because you weren’t home, and I thought it was important to spend the most time possible with him.”

“I can’t...” He sighed softly, or maybe exasperated, and found himself pulling Taeil closer to him, tucking the older’s head under his chin. His husband’s fingers moved to stroking his back gently. “I can’t even... be upset. With you.”

His chest muffled Taeil’s giggle. 

“Call Yuta to keep you company. I’ll make you some tea and get going. Is that okay?”

He stroked his husband’s face softly, Taeil’s lazy smile melting him.

“Make up kiss?”

Taeil shook his head, but still gave a tiny jump to kiss Taeyong’s nose.

“Make up sex. Later.”

A laugh erupted from the younger, automatically looking out the door to make sure his son was nowhere near. 

He wasn’t, and Taeil was back with the tea bags, so he kept the smile on his face for a while longer. 

He could chill. He could forget Christmas Eve was tomorrow. He could eat something and pretend they weren’t completely behind on schedule and the stores could possibly be- No. 

He _could_ focus on the toast instead.

“Very smart to insert our kid in the conversation, by the way.”

Taeil turned to wink.

“I know.”

  
  
—————

_“We could always have the dinner in our house, last year’s was perfect anyway.”_

_Taeyong glared at Doyoung from the other side of the table, hand never stopping moving the spoon in his tea._

_He’d surely love that. To_ win _like that. Taeyong wouldn’t let him._

_“No, it’s fine.”_

_Yuta snickered playfully, taking a sip from his hot chocolate as he watched the glare contest happening in front of him._

_Jaehyun had his eyes glued to the phone._

_“Are you sure? We all know how controlling you can be during these celebrations.”_

_Taeyong slapped his hands on the table._

_“That’s fucking ironic, Kim.”_

_“Taeyong, public space.”_

_Yuta’s hand pulled on his sleeve to force him to sit back._

_He did so reluctantly, slightly satisfied with the tiny little surprised jump from Doyoung a second before. That small victory tasted sweet._

_Not for long, though._

_Yuta sat a bit closer to him, his hand coming to rest on Taeyong’s shoulder._

_Uh-uh. He didn’t like where that was going._

_“Ty, seriously, ignoring your ongoing cold war with Doyoung-“_

_“I wouldn’t call it war-”_

_“-merely distaste for one another.”_

_Yuta eyed them unimpressed, Jaehyun whistled. The waiter stopped by to drop their toasts._

_“For_ five minutes _...” Yuta searched his eyes, and the mature part of Taeyong won, allowing him to look back at his friend. “We could always have it at my place.”_

_Yuta had a point. And if there’s any opinion he’d always value above anyone else’s, it’d be his best friend’s._

_Ensuring the preparations for the dinner went perfectly well from a distance would be hard. Especially considering Taeil never really organized none of their celebrations during the year (not that Taeyong ever let up that title)._

_However, if there was something that deeply bothered Taeyong’s holy jolly heart, was breaking tradition._

_And also, he’d rather have non-matching cutlery than let Doyoung win this round._

_“Cancel my ass.”_

_“I already did that in high school.”_

_Jaehyun snickered without looking up, Yuta straight up buried his head on a napkin to stifle his laugh._

_They both sobered up after Taeyong threatened to leave._

_“Okay, okay, it’s settled then. We can move on from this subject.”_

_Taeyong wiped his sleeve petulantly where Yuta had just touched. He didn’t reject the wet kiss his friend planted on his cheek in retaliation._

_“I’ve been meaning to ask, anyway...” Doyoung cleared his throat, looking at Taeyong. “What’s with the haircut?”_

—————

  
“Finally.”

Taeyong opened the door to his best friend, balancing his bowl in one arm and holding the door with the other.

“I see you’re busy.”

He didn’t reply to Yuta, instead trusting that he’d lock the door while Taeyong went back to the kitchen. 

The only sounds heard were the soft playlist Johnny had made for him to cook to, and his frantic arm mixing the eggs and sugar. He was a little behind on schedule, having gotten distracted tidying up his room and Donghyuck’s toys.

“I have zero time, I’m gonna need your help.”

Yuta rolled up his sleeves, turning up the music for a good measure. He turned it back down after a pointed look from Taeyong.

“Okay, grumpy pants, just tell me what to do.”

He turned to the cabinets. Sugar, eggs... what was it? Right, of course, flour, obviously. One hand automatically reached for the ingredient, while the other searched for a clean measuring cup.

“Read the recipes Taeil chose, I need to know if I’m missing any ingredients.”

He didn’t look at Yuta, but imagined there was a nod. 

His cakes usually tasted better the following day, so all he had to do tomorrow (assuming Taeil would do his part) would be some cookies for the children. And even then, he’d only need one batch, because Kun and Doyoung would be making them too.

Things weren’t looking bad, for now.

“We have a problem, Yongie.”

See, those weren’t the words he was physically capable of accepting right now. 

Yuta was perched on the counter, head glued to the note Taeil had left with the recipes he preferred. Taeyong didn’t stop moving, muttering a “what”.

“I can’t read shit.” He stopped then, looking at Yuta in confusion. He didn’t remember his friend ever complaining about needing glasses. “Seriously, did Hyuck write this? Did your frogs?”

He exhaled desperately. Yuta was no incompetent helper, he was Taeyong’s best friend for a reason. For all his wildness and insubordination, when he was in Taeyong’s kitchen, he knew not to cross him (that is, if he wanted a taste of the food in the end). The same way the older respected his rules when they played football with the kids. They were a very good match for a reason.

Perhaps that was why he didn’t take the complaint very seriously, taking his bowl with him as he approached Yuta, hand never ceasing its movements.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.”

He looked at the page a bit closer, which, he had to admit, he hadn’t really done before. And, okay, Taeil had definitely been in a hurry, he had to give that to Yuta.

A few letters were comprehensible, and Taeyong could make out some words here and there...

“Just call him.”

  
  
  
—————

  
  
Having Donghyuck over was always a pleasure. He was a cute kid, and the children got along.

Still, with six boys running around the house and only one and a half adults (because Ten spent most of the time contributing to their shenanigans anyway) Kun was, to say the least, stressed. 

Not that he usually couldn’t handle it, but he also promised Taeyong he’d bake some cookies as a guest gift, and it was hard to cook, clean, and watch over six demons. Well, five, Xiao was quietly making Christmas shapes on the dough.

The phone rang, then, and Kun was forced to stop looking out the window, to where Donghyuck had just fallen on top of Xuxi, Yangyang relentlessly throwing snowballs at their faces and Chenle doing his best to shield them. He tried not to panic about not seeing Hendery. Ten was watching over them, if there was any of Kun’s children that had more of his boyfriend’s attention it would be Hendery.

Right, his phone was ringing.

He walked to the living room in quick steps before the caller had time to give up.

“Taeil?”

A calm voice filtered through his ears as he walked back to the kitchen.

“What do you mean closed?” His astonishment caused Xiao to look up, and Kun quickly covered the microphone with his hand. “Sorry baby, don’t worry, go back to the cookies, they look beautiful.”

Xiao gave him a toothy smile, going back to his little, impressively accurate, tree. Kun focused back on the call. 

According to Taeil most of the stores were closed, which was weird, especially considering it wasn’t Christmas Eve yet. 

He vaguely remembered Doyoung betting against Yuta on something related to this.

“I mean, I can check the decorations I have, but I hardly ever keep the ones I don’t use.” Then, unsure wether he should or not, he added. “Taeyong would recognize them.”

Because the older was nothing if observant, when it came to decorations. Kun wouldn’t want to stand in the middle of that, even though Taeyong couldn’t possibly be mad at Taeil for more than one minute and a half, and Taeil couldn’t possibly be mad at anything. 

There was some discussion on the other side, he was sure Taeil was with Johnny at the moment.

He got distracted looking at the window again, Ten was waving, and he smiled back.

“Okay, yes, I’ll do that. I’ll call you later. No worries, it-“ A loud sound caused him to jump. Xiao was surprised too. A laughing Hendery and snow on the glass of the window in front of him cleared the confusion. Of course, _now_ he decided to show up. “Sorry, my kid’s being a menace. I’ll see you later, bye.”

He placed the phone on the table and looked at Xiao with affection.

“Grown ups are complicated.”

His son remained more interested in the cookies.

  
  
—————  
  


  
”This is the last one, right TY?”

He closed the oven and adjusted the temperature. Yuta had long finished his part, sitting on a stool and balancing his legs as he read some old magazine Taeil had bought while Taeyong had been away.

The kitchen was, surprisingly, not that messy, considering Yuta was in there. Although, Taeyong did have a habit of cleaning while he cooked. It payed off, he thought, looking at the beautiful cakes he had just created, all placed in a perfectly clean counter.

“Yes, we’re done.”

Taeyong sat down by his side with a long sigh. 

He took a glance at the magazine, but the clothes were last season. Yuta was probably eyeing the models, now that he thought about it.

A few more sighs escaped him.

“Call Johnny.”

Yuta didn’t move.

“He won’t tell me how the shopping is going, he knows I’m with you.”

Taeyong sighed dramatically, his head falling onto his friends shoulder. Here he was, having all this work with the cakes, and not one reward in sight. 

He suddenly cursed and jumped up, remembering he didn’t put the timer after the cake went into the oven.

Damn it, it was still early, he really needed to know wether Taeil needed help or not, now. While he could still do something.

“What if you call Jaehyun and he calls Johnny?”

“Two options.” Yuta closed the magazine to look at him. “We either catch up on all the holiday movies you missed, or we go get some tea.”

Right, of course that none of the things that mattered to Taeyong were part of his options. His friend was, in fact, evil, now that he thought about it.

He raised an eyebrow. 

“We can’t leave the house with a cake in the oven.”

“Then movies it is.” 

Yuta shrugged, getting up and pulling him by the hand out into the living room.

He huffed indignantly. Yuta had to understand how vital it was for Taeyong that things went well. That cookies and cakes were served, and beautiful decorations placed, and cute children smiling. 

What was Taeyong’s destiny in this planet, if not this? 

He opened his mouth, but Yuta covered it with his own hand, pushing him to sit down on the couch.

“The only sound I want to hear is Christmas reindeers.”

Needless to say, he ended up falling asleep halfway into the most boring holiday movie he could have picked, leaving Taeyong pouting on the couch.

  
  
—————

  
  
“I’m sorry, I don’t know how this happened...”

Taeil’s eyes, shiny and big in a way that resembled Donghyuck’s, wordlessly stared at Johnny.

The latter grabbed Taeil’s beanie, pushing it a little to the left, and then cupped his face, tilting it a little to the right.

“Perfect.”

Taeil’s expression didn’t move an inch.

“Seriously?”

Johnny nodded with certainty.

“You’ll have him apologizing to _you_ , with that face.”  
  
He sighed in relief at his friend’s words.

They were in the middle of a crowded street. Shiny lights and happy children everywhere, both their noses red from the cold. Every single toy shop was filled with clients, yet none of the stores Taeyong had deemed good for decorations were opened. 

He wasn’t going to give up, that simply wasn’t his style. However, he had to start making backup plans. Backup plan number two was, obviously, a cute apology to his husband. This one already had Johnny’s sealed approval. Then again, his friend was softer than a cupcake, and therefore not that trustworthy. Taeil would still go with his opinion.

Anyway, backup plan _one_ , was still worth a shot. Backup one was to go to all the cheap stores Taeyong couldn’t stand, and trust that his friends would get the remaining items he wouldn’t be able to find there.

Yeah, he wasn’t completely lost yet.

Johnny grabbed his hand, pushing him towards the first cheesy one he saw. He immediately scrunched his nose, so many years with Taeyong had definitely made him picky.

“By the way, if you apologize, you _have_ to do it with the beanie.”

“You think so?”

“Undoubtedly the most important variable. Utterly adorable, Moon Taeil.”

He still hoped it wouldn’t get to that.

  
  
—————

  
  
Donghyuck didn’t know much about life. 

He knew he liked Christmas, the snow and the presents. He knew he felt the safest in his parents arms, with a warm cup of hot chocolate. And he knew that the most important thing in life was treasuring friends and family.

He was also coming to find out that Xuxi was a special friend. After putting his delicate flower between two pages in the middle of a book, like papa Taeil had taught him, he had this strange feeling that the flower was magic.

That is, because now he felt his tummy get warm and fuzzy whenever Xuxi got close. And he even felt his cheeks redden sometimes! He always liked to be near his friend, but lately he could really feel the influence of his magic flower. Why else would he get so... soft?

He didn’t tell it to anyone, even though he was sure his parents would believe him. It just felt too special to share it. Of course he was going to tell Chenle eventually, but for now, it was his little secret.

Why was he thinking about this, you might ask? Because Xuxi had just taken his hand and pulled him to hide under their fort while Chenle was collecting more munitions, and Donghyuck’s cheeks were already rosier, he could feel it.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow! Mister Taeyong’s cakes are the best!”

Xuxi’s eyes and smile were wide as he spoke excitedly, snowflakes covering his eyelashes. He looked cute.

“Haechan, cover me!”

Chenle didn’t give Donghyuck the time to answer, choosing to start running towards Yangyang, throwing an impressive string of snowballs the other’s way.

Upon checking, Donghyuck noticed Hendery was also busy taking more snow, and getting yelled at for not covering his teammate, so he decided be didn’t really have to watch his best friend’s back either.

He turned around excitedly. 

“Just wait until you see the presents I got everyone!”

He said it quickly, and right after his eyes were back on Chenle, but he didn’t miss the gasp behind him. 

“ _Everyone_?”

He turned his head only, this time, looking at him with a smile on his face. Did Yukhei doubt he’d get a present too?

Chenle showed up then, high-pitched laughter giving away his presence immediately.

“Did you see that?” The youngest of the three was jumping between them, yelling excitedly. “I absolutely destroyed the other team!”

He smiled.

Xuxi was also smiling, though he was looking at Donghyuck. His cheeks were blushing too, and his scarf hid part of his lips.

Chenle pulled Xuxi to help him then, and Donghyuck turned back to watching the other team, who was dangerously quiet. He felt the magic of the flower slowly wearing off.

  
  
—————

  
  
“Did you find anything, love?”

Jaehyun looked up from his book to Doyoung, who was standing in doorway.

The older shook his head.

“Taeil’s out of luck.”

He nodded with a frown, turning back to his book. He was curled on their couch with the oldest blanket in the house, a dark green with little english bears, and Jaehyun’s favorite because it came from his own house.

He patted the space next to him, lifting his blanket for Doyoung to dive into. 

“Where’re the kids?”

His husband walked closer, but only to press a loving kiss to Jaehyun’s head.

He closed his book.

“Making their Christmas postcards.” Jaemin was, at least, Jeno had taken their kitten with him so there was a big chance he had fallen asleep playing with her. “Are you going out?”

He added the last part with a pout. Why else wouldn’t Doyoung let him cuddle him?

“I’m taking some things to Taeil, even though I doubt he’ll use them.” 

He nodded, pulling his husband in for a kiss, this time on the lips.

“Don’t take too long, you know how Jaemin is with the glitter... I don’t wanna clean it by myself.”

Doyoung laughed already at the door, and answered from the kitchen.

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll make sure Johnny cleans it.”

“I love you.”

Another laugh, and Doyoung’s head popped in from the hallway.

“I’m going now.” Jaehyun heard him put on his jacket, followed by the distinct sound of the keys. “Enjoy your reading.”

Doyoung smiled lovingly from the door, the box he was carrying already halfway out. 

Jaehyun opened his book again.

  
  
—————

  
“Johnny, do you think he’ll get a divorce?”

The younger laughed a bit obnoxiously, clapping his hands on Taeil’s back.

“Oh god, it’s just adorable to see you stressed with something.”

He rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was stress. All his focus was on bringing at least one decent item home.

They were sitting on a bench now, a box full of cheesy, straight up useless things sitting between his legs. It was getting late, he’d have to go pick up Donghyuck soon. 

“Did Doyoung say anything else?”

Johnny shook his head, and Taeil deflated a little.

“I can’t show up with this at home, can I?” He could. To be honest, he didn’t really care if they all ate on the couch with plates on their laps. With good company and an enjoyable playlist, he could be comfortable anywhere. But Taeyong loved this. He loved the plans, and the schedules and the _details_ , god, how he _loved_ the details. The matching patterns and complement colors gave his husband life. And Taeil would do just about anything to make sure Taeyong always smiled the way he did on those occasions. Even if it meant paying attention to... well, details. “What do you think?”

“I think...” Johnny stared at him for a moment. “... you’re underestimating the love Taeyong has for you.”

  
  
—————

  
  
Donghyuck was fast asleep on his shoulder as Taeil turned the key to his house.

Luckily, he was a quiet person by nature, because Taeyong was fast asleep on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket with the television still on.

He quietly placed the box he was carrying behind the armchair by the living room door, and went to Donghyuck’s bedroom, footsteps getting quicker because his baby was getting a little too heavy. He left him on his bedroom with a sweet kiss, and went downstairs again.

His husband probably had heard something, maybe Taeil’s all-but-race to his son’s room, because he was stretching sleepily on the couch by the time the older got back. His hair was all messy from sleep, and his left cheek had marks from the couch.

“You’re back.”

Taeyong said it with a soft smile, probably completely forgotten about Christmas and schedules, and Taeil immediately went to sit by his side.

His husband immediately fell against his side, and Taeil laughed gently.

“How much sleep did you get on the plane?”

Taeyong shrugged lazily, falling a bit further so that his head was on his husband’s lap.

“Not much... was too excited.”

Before he could close his eyes, Taeil began urging him to move, though as softly as possible.

“You should go eat something, and bed right after.”

It took a bit more coaxing, and a whole lot of whining from both parts, but Taeyong eventually nodded and got up.

He came back from the kitchen a few seconds later.

“Where did you put the shopping bags?”

It had been naive to think Taeyong wouldn’t remember it. He was standing against the doorway, eyes much more alert now, and slightly more threatening from Taeil’s point of view.

“They’re...” He cleared his throat. “They’re right here.”

Taeil pointed to the arm chair, then went to get the box after realizing Taeyong couldn’t see it from where he stood.

“In that box?”

His husband pointed at it with reluctance. Understandable, and not unexpected, considering the sheer box already looked 5 years old.

“Yeah...” He gulped. “Take a look.”

Taeyong finally moved towards him, and Taeil could honestly say he had his heart in his mouth.

The box was more wet than humid, because it had snowed for most of the afternoon, and he could see Taeyong fighting against the urge to go get some gloves to open it.

Old, discolored towels. Candles that had frozen during the trip. A collection of plates with little santa clauses and snowmans drawn at the center, most of those with no eyes. A red beret that he was sure had been Jaehyun’s, with a piece of cotton taped on top. A... condom? He was going to blame Johnny for that.

As Taeil watched his husband pull piece after piece of absolute trash, he realized he’d have been better coming empty handed.

That box was tragedy after tragedy. Disaster upon disaster. A mix of disappointment and-

“Sweet baby jesus...”

Taeyong’s hand was close to the condom, but ended up grabbing an actual baby jesus, whose head was hanging to the right, dangerously close to falling. To his defense, the baby jesus was perfectly fine when he picked it up. Although he did understand the price a bit better now.

His husband’s hand flew to his mouth, and he looked dangerously close to tears.

What had Taeil done?

“Yongie...”

He moved closer to his husband, who took a step back. Which, in all fairness, was justified, he was mortified on the inside too. 

“I can’t believe...” Taeyong rejected his hug, but his hands cupped Taeil’s face. “You’re just... I can’t believe you got me all this shit!”

He was having a hard time understanding Taeyong’s emotions at the moment, but it should be a good thing that he wasn’t actually crying.

“Sorry, baby, I-“

“No, no, Taeil... It’s...” He went back to the box, picking up a loose sock that had two holes instead of one. Taeyong showed it to him, and if his point was to prove how miserable the older’s life choices had been, then he was right. Taeil still didn’t know how to react though, even less so when his husband shook his head in astonishment. “It’s endlessly adorable, oh my! It’s just so _bad_ I could cry, but I just melted instead because you clearly had all this work and- and that’s Jaehyun’s beret! And that sock... that sock is outrageous!”

He ended his speech in a breathless laugh, as if Taeil hadn’t thought he was about to murder him five minutes ago.

He didn’t let relief flood him just yet.

“Why aren’t you stressed?”

Taeyong kept inspecting the box, now smiling as he kept finding more and more ridiculous things.

“Oh I am! I was working on this speech the whole afternoon, while Yuta forced me to watch these boring movies.” He shook his head in thought. “I was so sure you’d come home empty handed!”

He chuckled to himself, picking a mug that read “Merry Christmas” in some weird foreign language and showing it to Taeil, laughing. As if Taeil hadn’t been the one to buy it.

“But...you’re not mad?”

Taeyong placed the mug back on the box, eyeing him for a bit before getting closer.

“Being mad at you is like being mad at a flower, Taeilie.”

He giggled, grabbing Taeil’s cheeks with affection.

“You’re poetic now too, uh.”

Taeyong giggled again, then, as if they weren’t in the middle of the weirdest set of events Taeil had ever been through, he went to the kitchen.

To be honest, some irrational part of him was still waiting for Taeyong to get mad, throw that ugly mug out the window, tear that smelly sock, or, even worse, cry. Not because he was the type to do any of those things (except cry, that was fairly common considering Donghyuck went offscale with his cuteness), but because Christmas was _that_ important to him. Him being all... cute and relaxed and _unbothered_ , was suspicious, now that he thought about it.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it, because Taeyong came back again, his arms supporting a whole lot of... shopping bags?

“And you’re too cute to make suffer, so I’ll just come clean.”

He walked to the couch, laying the bags on the ground opened for Taeil to see its contents. Two arms wrapped around his waist from behind, as Taeyong shyly looked at him.

Suddenly, everything made a whole lot of sense.

Inside the bags, a million little decorations, from towels to candles, to fluffy snowmans that the kids would love, all shiny and new. 

And right on top, as if the welcome ticket, fully white and patterned with little gold stars, the napkins.

  
  
—————  
  


_  
“I need you to do it.”_

_His voice was serious, yet Doyoung raised an unimpressed eyebrow._

_“You do?”_

_Taeyong moved in the unfamiliar chair. He had picked a different coffee shop just in case some of their friends decided to go to their usual spot._

_“I’m really going on that trip... There’s a list...”_

_Doyoung interrupted him._

_“I know what you want.” He looked around smugly, taking a sip from his drink, because he loved making Taeyong wait. “I’d never get in the way of a good Christmas, I have already established that answer.”_

_Doyoung leaned forward. Excessively dramatic, if you asked him._

_“The real question is... Do_ you _know what to do?”_

_He nodded._

_“Let jaehyun win 3 times in computer games.”_

_Doyoung huffed petulantly._

_“Separately, we don’t want him to get suspicious. You’re a decent player, after all, and my husband is smart.”_

_“Right.“ He took another sip at his tea, because this was serious business, but he was still cold. “Laugh at Johnny’s stupid jokes for a week.”_

_“I said a month, and don’t you dare call his stupid jokes stupid.”_

_He eyed Doyoung for a moment, daring him to look away. Taeyong did it first, huffing in annoyance._

_“I won’t make it if its a month. And won’t he get suspicious too?”_

_Doyoung snorted._

_“Johnny? The joy of someone laughing at what he said is blinding to him.”_

_A fair point._

_“Aren’t you forgetting something?”_

_Taeyong resisted the urge to pout. He could show no weakness in front of his mortal enemy._

_He sighed, sitting a bit straighter on his chair, making sure no one else heard his words._

_“And I’ll give you my 10% cupon discount in scented candles.”_

_Doyoung smiled evilly._

_“Now this is what i call a good deal.”_

_  
_ —————

  
  
Christmas was fun, Donghyuck thought, sitting on his uncle Yuta’s lap because he couldn’t find his parents and wanted cuddles.

Yangyang had planned staying awake the whole night playing a game with Renjun. They were both sleeping now, on each leg of Kun, the game board already put back in the box, by his dada Taeyong probably.

Chenle was talking to his uncle Winwin, not sleepy at all, and Jisung was listening quietly, smaller hands wrapped around the other’s arm. 

Everyone else was on the couch, watching the movie Doyoung had put on.

The only ones missing were his parents and-

Xuxi showed up then, his brand new mug cradled tightly in his hands, uncle Johnny following behind. He probably had just poured the hot chocolate for Xuxi.

“Do you really like it?”

He perched himself on his uncle’s lap as his friend got closer. With the help of his papa Taeil, Donghyuck had painted mugs for all his friends, and one for each of his parents. Papa Taeil already had his own carefully placed in a hidden cabinet so that dada Taeyong didn’t see it before receiving his. 

He only gifted it to him at midnight, and it was worth the wait when his father teared up and kissed Donghyuck’s face all over.

Xuxi’s was simpler than most though, it was white, and only had a small, pink flower in the middle of it. That’s right, their magic flower! Then, maybe he’d start feel its magic too, so Donghyuck won’t be the only one. 

His friend smiled brightly.

“I loved it so much, Haechannie! The best gift ever!”

Yuta tickled his sides then, turning Donghyuck around so quickly the child giggled.

“How come I didn’t get a mug?”

His uncle pouted slightly, and Donghyuck frowned.

“Because I gave you a sweater with Dada Yongie!”

It had been oversized and red with a big Rudolph in the middle of it, and Donghyuck could proudly admit he had helped picking it. He had even demanded it being red (because Christmas, duh!).

“What if I want a mug?”

Donghyuck pretended to think about it for a second.

“What about a kiss instead?”

After years of observing his parents interacting, Donghyuck could say for sure, that kisses were always the solution.

His theory was proven right by the smile his uncle tried to mask.

“Hmm... Fine, you got yourself a deal.”

Donghyuck wrapped his arms around his uncle’s neck, kissing his cheek in the mushy way his parents loved.

Speaking of which, they showed up in that exact moment, both of them blushed, cheeks rosy... maybe they had been too close to Donghyuck’s flower.

He remembered Xuxi, who had been talking to him, but his friend was busy asking uncle Johnny for more chocolate.

He giggled slightly, and even more when his papa suddenly picked him up and transferred him to his own arms, dada Yongie cheekily replacing his place on uncle Yuta’s lap to stay close to the two of them.

There were laughs, and uncle Doyoung chastised the adults for making noise, but he didn’t really care much about noise as he rested his head on his papa’s chest, felling gentle fingers stroking his hair, his eyes half closed but still seeing Taeyong wrestle Yuta for a place next to his husband.

Donghyuck didn’t know a lot, but he did know this Christmas had been perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> There!! Hope you liked it!! Feel free to talk to me in the comments, I love to read them!! Or, if you’re shy, you can just leave kudos ;)


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